A conventional revolving screwdriver as disclosed in Taiwanese Patent Publication No. 90,218,776 is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. The handle 10 comprises a hollow, cylindrical head 101 having a section of hexagon. The revolving cylinder 11 is provided in an eccentric bore of the handle 10. The revolving cylinder 11 comprises a plurality of axial cartridges 111 on its surface. Each cartridge 111 is capable of receiving one of a plurality of different shanks 12 (i.e., different tips including flat tip, Robertson tip, Phillips tip, etc.) having a hexagonal cross-section. Each cartridge 111 can be aligned with the bore of the head 101 by rotation. An elongated, axial slot 102 is formed on the surface of the handle 10. A slide assembly 13 is adapted to slide along the slot 102. The slide assembly 13 has a lower cavity 131 adapted to matingly engage with the tab 121 at the rear end of the shank 12. The handle 10 further comprises an opening 103 opposite the slot 102. The opening 103 is in communication with the revolving cylinder 11.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 specifically, in use a user may put his/her finger in the opening 103 to contact the revolving cylinder 11 prior to rotating the revolving cylinder 11 until a desired shank 12 is aligned with the bore of the head 101. Next, slide the slide assembly 13 forwardly to push the shank 12 out of the head 101. The user then can hold the handle 10 to turn a screw that is engaged with the tip of the shank 12. As stated above, each of the head 101 and the shank 12 has a section of hexagon. Also, the shank 12 is required to align with the head 101 prior to projecting therefrom for use. Further, the head 101 is fixedly formed on a forward end of the handle 10. Hence, it is easy to align the shank 12 with the head 101 by rotation.
A variety of ratchet screwdrivers are commercially available nowadays. However, the provision of a ratchet device in the revolving screwdriver may encounter a difficulty of aligning the shank 12 with the head 101. This is because the head 101 is provided as a rotary one rather than a fixed one. As such, this type of revolving screwdriver with ratchet device has not enjoyed economic success. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.